SINGAPORE: A 10-year-old girl died on Tuesday (8 April) after a fire broke out at a shophouse along River Valley Road, which houses several businesses including education and enrichment centres for children.
The fatality was confirmed by Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam during his speech at Changi Airport, where he was welcoming back the Operation Lionheart contingent from their quake rescue mission in Myanmar.
According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), 20 individuals—comprising five adults and 15 children—were taken to hospital following the fire.
SCDF had initially reported 19 casualties, but later confirmed that another adult had sought medical assistance, bringing the total to 20.
In a Facebook statement issued around noon, SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at 278 River Valley Road at about 9.45am.
When officers arrived, they found a raging fire on the second and third floors of the three-storey shophouse.
The affected building houses multiple businesses catering to children, including Tomato Cooking School, a children’s theatre group, and a robotics learning centre.
Videos circulating on social media showed children stranded on a third-storey ledge as thick black smoke poured out of the building.
Some bystanders, including construction workers, were seen climbing scaffolding in an attempt to rescue them.
“Members of the public, including construction workers, used a metal scaffolding and a ladder to reach those stranded and brought a number of them to safety,” SCDF said in its statement.
Firefighters deployed rescue ladders and a combined platform ladder to evacuate the remaining individuals on the ledge, while others proceeded to fight the fire inside the premises.
The blaze was brought under control and extinguished within 30 minutes using three water jets.
Police and SCDF officers evacuated around 80 people from the shophouse and nearby units as a precaution.
In a statement, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital confirmed that it had received casualties from the incident.
“Our immediate priority is to provide urgent medical care to these patients and to lend support to the caregivers,” said Associate Professor Sashikumar Ganapathy, head and senior consultant at the hospital’s department of emergency medicine.
Among the injured was the youngest son of Indian political party leader Pawan Kalyan.
According to a Facebook post by the JanaSena Party, the boy—identified as Mark Shankar—was involved in the “fire accident” at his school in Singapore.
He reportedly sustained injuries to his hands and legs and suffered from smoke inhalation. He is currently receiving treatment in hospital.
Mr Kalyan was touring the Alluri Sitharama Raju district in Andhra Pradesh when he was informed of the news.
He will travel to Singapore after completing his earlier commitments, the party said.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
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